The Defender (The Carrier Series Book 2) Read Free Page B

farther. We must
have been running at full speed for at least five minutes. I was not used to
such nonsense.
    Finally he stopped and surveyed the scene. “This will do,” he
said.
    I bent over with my hands on my knees, breathing like I had just
given birth right there on the forest floor. He told me to climb halfway up the
tree and sit on a sturdy limb.
    “No! Not until…you tell me…what’s going…on!” I could barely get
the words out between my heavy breathing. I was beyond frustration.
    Nolan quickly walked over to me. He pulled me up from my crouched
position and stared deeply into my eyes. “My sweet Ava. Please. I know this
must be hard, but you have to trust me. Do as I say and this will all be over
in a few minutes.” Then he kissed me passionately but quickly. “Please.”
    I wanted to protest, but instead I surrendered to those damn baby
blues. I was helpless against their power.
    I turned around and climbed the tree up to the third limb. I was
lucky my sister and I had had trees to climb in our backyard as kids. Who knew
that skill would come in handy as an adult? I looked down. I was probably about
forty feet up the tree and glad that heights didn’t bother me.
    Nolan nervously paced the forest floor under my hideout tree. He
took out his cell and dialed a number. Then he turned his back away from me.
Normally I would be able to hear what he was saying, but my ears were still
ringing from the blast. My stomach had turned inside out again. I was nervous
and anxious and sure of one thing—I would never go near that rock again.
    I could see the smoke rising from the site a few hundred yards
down the pathway. There was a fire truck there now, with men pointing long
hoses at the fire.  
    Nolan’s voice grew louder. “Dammit! I need a reconnaissance team
in here now!” He began to pace quicker. “What do you mean my field rating is
unsatisfactory?” He paused and I could tell he was angry. “A civilian’s life is
at risk!”
    Nolan suddenly slammed a finger at the phone’s screen to hang up
the call, letting out a grunt of frustration. He quickly and intensely scanned
the tree line. Had he heard something I didn’t? Then out of nowhere the crack
of a gunshot echoed through the woods, and Nolan dropped to the ground with a
groan.
    I gasped. No…no…no…no! My mouth opened to let out a scream
but nothing came out.
    Nolan rolled over to his side, looked up at me, and said in a
raspy voice, “Greeeeeeeeen. Trust green.”
    I whispered back through my tears, “What? Sweetheart…?”
    I was about to jump down from the tree when I heard footsteps. I
looked out into the forest and saw three men in dark suits carrying guns. They
ran towards the unmoving Nolan. I held completely still. They hadn’t seen me up
in the tree yet.
    One of the men pressed something in his ear. “We got him. No sign
of the girl.”
    They knew I had been with Nolan. Chills sped down my spine.
Another man picked up Nolan and threw him over his shoulder, and then they all
ran out of the forest the same way they entered.
    Uncontrollable tears began to fall from my eyes. What just
happened? This couldn’t be real! A nightmare, this had to be a nightmare.
    Wake up, Ava!
    I slapped myself in the face, but lost my balance on the tree limb
and fell backwards, narrowly missing all the branches on the way down. My body
landed with a thud on the grass and weeds below, and I let out a groan as I
rolled to my left. My right arm radiated intense pain.
    Oh no! I probably broke it.
    I knew I had to get out of there before someone else came. But
should I run after Nolan’s captors or toward my parents’ house? I wasn’t
prepared for any kind of fight, so I painfully set off in the direction of
Capital Street. I scrambled about four steps forward before I heard a loud
crack and felt a sting in my back, sending me instantly to the ground.
    I’d been shot, too. What kind of evil world would bring us
together only to rip us apart time and